Chippewas Look To End Skid At Ohio

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan men's basketball team will try to avoid its second four-game losing streak this season as they head to Athens, Ohio for a Mid-American Conference matchup against Ohio on Tuesday, Feb. 18 (7 p.m.).

Where the Chippewas Stand
CMU is 13-11 overall and 6-5 in conference, which puts them in third in the MAC West behind first-place Northern Illinois, which is 8-5 in league play, and Ball State (7-5).

The Chippewas lost to Akron, 80-67, and have lost three-consecutive games since a 6-2 start in conference play.

Team Stats
CMU heads into Tuesday's game averaging 80.7 points per game, good for No. 10 in the country. The Chippewas are the only team in the MAC averaging 80 or more points per game.

The Chippewas have made a total of 390 free throws, good for second in the MAC, and have a free throw percentage of .732, good for fourth in the MAC.

Defensively, the Chippewas are giving up 75.9 points per game, which is last in the conference. They are forcing opponents to 16.7 turnovers per game, good for second in the MAC, and No. 18 in the country. Of those 16.7 turnovers, 9.3 of them come off steals.

CMU's turnover margin of plus 4.04 is the best in the MAC and No. 15 in the country.

Individual Leaders
David DiLeo leads CMU in scoring with 14.7 points per game. His 3-point percentage of .393 is the best on the team and eighth in the conference.

Behind DiLeo is Kevin McKay, who is putting up 14.1 points per game and leads CMU in rebounding with 6.6 per game. McKay's shooting percentage of .636 is eighth in the country and is best among guards.

Devontae Lane leads CMU in assists with 3.5 per game. His 2.0 steals per game is tied for the best in the conference.

Scouting Ohio
Ohio is 12-13, 4-8, and is fifth in the MAC East.

Ohio averages 70.9 points per game and is allowing 68.8 points per. Its .448 field goal percentage is tied for second in the conference.

The Bobcats have made a total of 274 free throws this season, which is the least in the MAC, and have gone to the line a total of 404 times, No. 11 in the MAC.

Jason Preston, a 6-foot-4 sophomore, leads Ohio in scoring at 16.2 points per game, and he ranks third in the nation in assists at 7.7 per game. He is also Ohio's second-best rebounder at 6.5 boards per.

Ben Vander Plas, a 6-8 sophomore, ranks second on the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game and leads the Bobcats in rebounds with 6.9 per.

Breakout Broadway
Unfortunately, the injury/illness bug has not been kind to the Chippewas this season.

They have been without McKay and Devontae Lane for multiple games this season; Kevin Hamlet has not seen this floor since Jan. 18 because of an injury; and sharpshooting guard Dallas Morgan missed CMU's game with Eastern Michigan last week because of illness.

Travon Broadway Jr. has stepped up to help fill the void. The 6-foot 5-inch junior has been a spark, whether as a starter or coming off the bench.

He is one of five players to have appeared in all 24 of CMU's games, and he has made 13 starts. He is averaging 22-plus minutes per game and has scored a career-high 17 points in each of CMU's last two games. He also had 17 in CMU's season-opening win over Michigan-Dearborn.

"I think he's just starting to show signs of what he can do," CMU coach Keno Davis said of the Miami, Fla. native who transferred to CMU from Iowa Western Community College. "I think you're looking at someone with a lot of confidence. If the injuries did anything for us positively, it gave him even more of an opportunity to be in a more dominant role.

"I think going forward he's able to use some of that confidence both on the defensive and offensive end. He gives us another dimension with his length, his ability to attack the basket, and to be able to shoot from distance as well."

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Players Mentioned

Travon Broadway Jr.

David DiLeo

Kevin Hamlet

Devontae Lane

Kevin McKay

Dallas Morgan